Tent set up for third season elk in CO

[Nicaburns]

DANCHEL OUTDOOR B2 Portable Yurt with Stove Jack for All Year Living, 4 Season Bell Tent 4/6 Person Family Camping Glamping Gears 300D Oxford Khaki,13ft/16.4ft https://a.co/d/05moyKrB
Base camp with a cheap stove… won’t break the bank and works great

 

[Pilsner]

Get a wall tent/tipi tent with stove for base camp. The ability to get warm and dry out your gear is paramount if you want to be able to hunt effectively day after day.

I tend to toss a bivy sack, my glassing pad (a z-lite pad cut in half), a woobie, and a tarp in my pack daily just for comfort while glassing. It makes an unexpected night on the mtn a bunch more comfortable and about 200% more survivable if the unexpected happens while I am out.

Kind of the middle ground approach between Base camp/spike camp debate.
If you are in the mtns you should ALWAYS have a beanie, puffy coat, rain shell, and gloves with you. This means that even if you are caught without your entire sleep system that you aren't gonna die of hypothermia with the above setup.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

I don’t hunt the later seasons anymore without the ability to burn wood. Being cold is just not worth it. Better to have and not need than need and not have….

 

[fracguy]

Get a wall tent/tipi tent with stove for base camp. The ability to get warm and dry out your gear is paramount if you want to be able to hunt effectively day after day.

I tend to toss a bivy sack, my glassing pad (a z-lite pad cut in half), a woobie, and a tarp in my pack daily just for comfort while glassing. It makes an unexpected night on the mtn a bunch more comfortable and about 200% more survivable if the unexpected happens while I am out.

Kind of the middle ground approach between Base camp/spike camp debate.
If you are in the mtns you should ALWAYS have a beanie, puffy coat, rain shell, and gloves with you. This means that even if you are caught without your entire sleep system that you aren't gonna die of hypothermia with the above setup.

To add to that, fire starter, waterproof matches, lighter, pararcord are always in my pack. I can always build a fire if need be to get warm and dry my stuff out. At that point it's more of a survival situation than just a comfort issue and I don't care about scaring animals with a fire. Was on a backpack trip when I was in college in vail Colorado and myself and 2 other guys went ahead and found the cabin we were staying the week at. Waited around for an hour for others to start showing up because they were slower and not in as good as shape as we were in. Nobody showed up so we headed down the mountain, this was early November so cold and lots of snow up there. We found all of our classmates about half mile from the cabin, they all took their clothes and tossed them in the snow and was all in their sleeping bags in the snow. I built a fire and we got everyone huddled around it getting warm while we packed everyones bags up to the cabin. By time we had gotten all their packs to the cabin everyone was warm and dryish, enough to get moving. The teacher wasn't very experienced at any of that and wasn't smart to have all of us up there. But had we not been able to build a fire to get everyone warm, I'm sure fingers and toes would have been frostbitten. I sure didn't respect the mountains when I was a teenager but learned how to survive with all the dumb crap I used to do. Kinda miss being a stupid kid lol

 

[Pilsner]

I just spent spring bear season in the Wyoming Medicine Bow mtns. We, as a group and against our better judgment and vast experience, were under preprepared for the heavy wet overnight snow. The ability to get wet clothing and sleeping gear dry with a wood stove is what allowed us to make it for a 10 day trip where it would have otherwise been a 3 day trip.
However you do it just have a plan for drying out EVERYTHING THAT YOU OWN!
our group plan for next year is to take a couple of wall tents with stoves.

 

[SonnyDay]

Plenty of solid advice above.

More about your budget and overall plan would help us!

Otherwise:
Check the weather as your hunt approaches.

My first elk hunt was 3rd season Colorado high country and we truck camped in a three-man 3-season backpacking tent. I was in my late 40’s at the time. It was fine. We had decent pads and bags, and the weather was nice so we just cooked on the tailgate.

I used that set-up for another several years (including backpack hunting) before upgrading to a hot tent a few years ago.

If you have money to burn… by all
means buy a wall tent or tipi and stove or other heater.

You’ll still need the right clothing and sleeping set-up to be OK without the heating.

So a more budget friendly option is a good bag and pad, and a backpacking tent that can handle snow load.

Have fun!

 

[GotDraw?]

Bring a full set of heavy tire chains (not cable chains) and make sure you know how to put them on and tension them in crappy conditions. Bring a snow shovel. Consider a chainsaw in case of deadfall on the road going in or out if you're going further in than you want to walk out. At night. In the snow. When it's bitter cold and windy as snot. Consider a come along or winch in case you get really stuck. Bring a long winch line so you can reach a tree to anchor. Test your system before leaving.

Just sayin...

JL

 

[ReaptheHeat]

Chains are a must. But caveat, people keep mentioning chains when just about every vehicle can not use chains on the front wheels without hitting the upper control arms without addition of wheel spacers. Can only fit on the rear.

 

[MImatt]

Chains are a must. But caveat, people keep mentioning chains when just about every vehicle can not use chains on the front wheels without hitting the upper control arms without addition of wheel spacers. Can only fit on the rear.

very true and some vehicles can only use the light duty whatever class they call it S or E or something.

 

[Fan5]

I wouldn’t say hot tents are the norm, but they’re definitely common for 3rd season if a guy is planning to establish a base camp and hunt from there. For me it comes down to the style of hunt and how much country I need to cover.


If I’m running a true base camp in November, a hot tent is hard to beat. Being able to dry gear, warm up, sleep better, and reset mentally after bad weather is a big deal. That said, I still carry an emergency layer/shelter system when I leave camp. I don’t want my entire safety plan tied to making it back to the tent. Weather, elk movement, injury, or terrain can change the day fast.


My setup would be something like: hot tent at base, then day hunt with enough insulation, rain/snow protection, fire kit, headlamp, emergency bivy or tarp, food, water/filter, and comms to survive an unplanned night out. Not comfortable, but survivable.


If you’re trying to be highly mobile, then an ultralight trekking pole tent makes more sense. You lose the comfort and drying ability of a hot tent, but gain flexibility. That’s better if you’re still learning the unit, following elk sign, or don’t want to be anchored to one drainage.


For a first western elk hunt, I’d decide based on your plan:


Base camp/day hunt = hot tent plus emergency kit.


Mobile/backpack hunt = lightweight shelter carried with you.


Either way, don’t leave camp without enough gear to spend the night. Third season CO can turn from “nice hike” to “real problem” very quickly.

 

[il_cop]

There are a lot a variables to consider here...specifically - the country you're hunting, your knowledge of the area (where the elk are, in what conditions), the seasonal range, the amount of snow before your hunt, the weather during your hunt, your goals and the experience you want to have, etc.

If it's snowed a ton before the hunt, you're in transitional or winter range, and the daily commute (that doesn't wear you out) gets you on elk, then there's nothing like a truck accessed hot tent.

But if your daily commute has you hiking 6+ hours a day, that cozy, warm tent becomes an immovable morale magnet and ultimately, in my opinion, a detriment to your hunt.

Given the amount of objective variables, your best option is a packable hot tent of some variety.

If it's snowed, or snowing, but not enough to move animals down, you can pack in with the stove, stay warm and dry, and stay with the elk.

If it's unseasonably warm and dry, you can pack in without the stove, save some weight, and stay with the elk.

If it has dumped and the animals have moved to a spot you can access within a reasonable distance of a road camp, you can set the tent up there without worrying about having to move it quickly.

All that said, if you want to enjoy the experience of a road camp in a wall tent with a stove, or some other hot tent setup, see what hunting options are with that setup, take what you get, whether or not you kill an elk, you should do that!